The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced that it will host masterclasses in mainland China and Hong Kong with BAFTA-winning casting director, Nina Gold, who has cast actors such as Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley in major films. The events are part of BAFTA’s ongoing activity to encourage cross-cultural learning and creative collaboration between the UK and China.
At the masterclasses, Nina Gold will share her insights of casting films and TV shows, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Game of Thrones, with an audience of acting students, alumni and invited guests. Prior to the masterclasses, Nina will conduct auditions, live and taped, with selected students from leading arts institutions the Beijing Film Academy and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
The first event, held in partnership with the China Britain Film Festival (CBFF), will take place in Dachang, China on Wednesday 14 December at the Dachang Film and Media Industrial Park with students from the Beijing Film Academy.
The CBFF, which runs from 12-19 December 2016 in Beijing, aims to provide a platform for the closer relationship between the Chinese and British film industries and to nurture prosperity and development of the world film industries. On Tuesday 13 December Nina Gold and Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, will take part in panel discussions on casting and acting, and cultural collaboration respectively, at the CBFF’s Film Forum in Beijing, supported by LeTV.
Nina Gold’s second masterclass will be held in Hong Kong, in partnership with The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, at the Academy’s Drama Theatre on Wanchai campus on Thursday 15 December.
BAFTA’s activities in Asia are supported by its Official Partners. These include The Peninsula Hong Kong, which has been the exclusive hotel partner since BAFTA’s first activity in the region 2013, Champagne Taittinger and The Peninsula Beijing.
Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said: “We’re incredibly excited to be returning to and continuing our learning and new talent activity in mainland China and Hong Kong. Nina Gold, a BAFTA Special Award recipient, has helped make household names out of rising stars on both the big and small screens, and we’re looking forward to shining a light on the craft of casting, sharing her unique insights, and advancing the creative and cultural exchange between the UK and Asia that BAFTA is committed to.”
Nina Gold biography:
Nina Gold began her career in casting with the films Twin Town and The Borrowers in 1997, and went on to cast every film by BAFTA-winning director Mike Leigh since they paired up for Topsy-Turvy in 1999. Over the course of her career, she has cast critically acclaimed television series and films including Game of Thrones, Wolf Hall, John Adams, London Spy, The King’s Speech, The Imitation Game and is known to cast new faces into high profile roles.
In April 2016 Nina Gold was honoured with a BAFTA Special Award for her outstanding contribution to casting over 100 television and film productions – the first time BAFTA has recognised a casting director with a special award. She is a member of the UK’s Guild of Casting Directors and is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy awards for her work on John Adams in 2008 and Game of Thrones in 2015. Recent credits include The Theory of Everything and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Event details:
BAFTA Masterclass on Casting with Nina Gold in Dachang
09.00 on Wednesday 14 December at the Dachang Film and Media Industrial Park
BAFTA Masterclass on Casting with Nina Gold in Hong Kong
18.30 on Thursday 15 December at Drama Theatre, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, 1 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
BAFTA has a select number of free tickets for each event. To apply please email [email protected]
For further information, please contact:
Arthur R. Hagopian at Strategic PR Group (Beijing)
T (86) 10 8580 4258 x220
E [email protected]
Eleanor Pickering at BAFTA (London)
T +44 (0) 20 7734 0022
E [email protected]
